50th anniversary: IEA SHC marks a new chapter with updated name and visual identity

What better way to celebrate 50 years of international research collaboration than with an evening of inspiring stories, good company, and a special birthday cake? At EuroSun mid-September, the IEA SHC Programme celebrated Five Decades of Innovation through Research Collaboration – looking back at a remarkable journey and honouring some of the people who have shaped the programme what it is today. The evening provided the perfect setting for the IEA SHC Chair Lucio Mesquita to introduce the programme’s new name Solar Technologies & Sustainable Heating and Cooling (STSHC) Programme that better reflects the range of topics covered in Tasks in the last years. Photo: IEA STSHC

“Our programme has covered a much broader range of research topics than solar thermal heating and cooling alone over the five decades,” emphasized Mesquita. He presented the pie chart below illustrating the topics addressed by all 75 international collaborative tasks.

Researchers have, for example, worked on solar neighbourhood planning, covering aspects such as the active and passive use of building surfaces, solar access and the right to light. Another example is daylighting and efficient lighting technologies. New applications of sunlight in photoreactors for fuel production have also become part of the programme’s scope.

STSHC chair Lucio Mesquita explaining the updated name of the programme. Photo: ISES

“So, you can see why we wanted to update the name of our programme to better reflect what we have been doing,” said Mesquita. “We also wanted to highlight the strength of our programme in working with sustainable heating and cooling systems.” This has always been part of the portfolio, as solar heating and cooling systems operate integrated with other technologies. “So, we have always worked with hybrid and integrated systems, and this matches well with the new realities in energy sector”, added Mesquita. “Policy makers and heat off-takers are now looking towards renewable heating and cooling solutions, often in hybrid systems that cover a high share of a client’s energy demand.”

The highlighted areas of expertise include three aspects:
• Advancement of solar technologies for heating, cooling, lighting, fuel production, detoxification and other chemical services
• Design of renewable heating and cooling systems for domestic, commercial, industrial and agricultural applications
• Integration into practical applications to achieve cost-effective and socially responsible energy services.

STSHC secretary Ben Sinson presenting the outstanding contribution awards Photo: ISES

Presenting ten outstanding contribution awards

Another high point of the anniversary celebration was the award ceremony. These awards are about recognising people behind the programme – individuals who have contributed their time, energy and expertise to making the IEA SHC Programme what it is today. “Of course, there are many more people who would deserve to be recognised. But for this occasion, we have focused on a limited number of colleagues who are still or have recently been actively involved,” said STSHC Secretary Ben Stinson during the award ceremony.

Award recipients starting second from left: Christoph Brunner (Head of AEE INTEC), Dr. Uli Jakob (Task Manager of solar cooling tasks), Dr.-Ing. Harald Drück (Task Manager on solar energy buildings), Ken Guthrie (longterm representative of Australia in the STSHC Executive Committee), Prof. Dr. Andreas Häberle (Head of the Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences), Bärbel Epp (Director of solrico). Kerstin Krüger (German country representative in the STSHC Executive Committee) presented the awards Photo: ISES

The biggest round of applause went to Pamela Murphy. She joined the SHC programme already in 1997, organising more than 55 Executive Committee meetings and working alongside nine chairs. Over the years, she travelled the world to support the work of thousands of experts in solar heating and cooling. “We all owe Pam a debt of gratitude and wish her well in her retirement,” said Stinson in his laudation.

Three people accepted their awards online: Pamela Murphy, SHC Secretary from 1997 to 2024; Werner Weiss, Austria’s long-standing representative on the STSHC Executive Committee and a former chair; and Dr. Daniel Mugnier, France’s long-standing representative on the STSHC Executive Committee and a former chair. Karl-Andres Weiβ, Task Manager of Life cycle & Cost Assessment, was not able to participate. Photos taken from congratulation videos

Looking back at 50 years of programme achievements

Ken Guthrie of Australia is the longest-serving country representative on the Executive Committee, having joined in 2003. Stinson paid tribute to him as a “tireless enthusiast who has been actively involved in multiple SHC committees, including the Solar Award, the Solar Academy and the Information Centre.” Guthrie was therefore well placed to present some of the programme’s key achievements and its lasting impact.

Among the milestones he highlighted were:
• Solar Heat Worldwide: the programme’s flagship publication, with 21 editions published since 2005.
• Advancing testing and standards: intensive work to harmonise testing protocols and define standards for collector and storage testing.
• Increasing investor confidence for industrial solar heat – through monitoring and analysis, tool comparisons and yield simulations.
• Solar neighbourhood world map: lessons learned from 48 inspiring case studies, presented in an interactive map with a multi-page description of each project.

But the programme’s greatest asset is its experts themselves. “Over the years, we’ve had thousands of experts participating in the collaborative tasks, each bringing the unique perspective of their country, industry and research institute to work together on a particular, well-defined research question,” said Guthrie while showing the slide below.

The stylish anniversary celebration was a fitting tribute to the programme’s achievements and the many people who have shaped its success over the years – with special thanks to everyone involved, and in particular to the EuroSun team for their excellent organisation and support.

Websites of organisations mentioned in this news article:
Solar Technologies & Sustainable Heating and Cooling Programme: https://www.iea-stshc.org/
EuroSun 2026: https://www.eurosunconference.org/
AEE INTEC: https://www.aee-intec.at/
University of Applied Sciences Rapperswil: https://www.ost.ch/en/
International Solar Energy Society (ISES): https://www.ises.org/